Compare And Contrast Capitol And District 12

In Katniss’ nation, Panem, the twelve districts are overseen by the Capitol. The Capitol enforces all people in the districts. The districts are at the Capitol’s mercy (Collins 18), unable to rebel without harsh punishment. The majority of the Districts are poor, while the Capitol is rich. Katniss lives in District 12, among the poorest of the districts. Jonas’ community is controlled by the Elders. The main role of the Elders is to make the laws, organize the ceremonies, and to assign jobs (Lowry 103). Another key role they have that is important to the story is that they decide who lives and who dies, so they essentially are very powerful in Jonas’ world too. In the worlds of both Jonas and Katniss, there is one group who holds power over everyone else.

Socialization plays a big part in this film. From different behaviors and values, to ideologies, socialization determines how society is run. The citizens of the Capitol are very different from those in the Districts. Those from the Capitol dress in flashy fashions, dye their hair in very bright colors, wear lots of makeup, speak in accent, and smell in what they call roses. When we see Katniss and the rest of the citizens residing in District 12, they seem to be dressed poorly in comparison, no makeup or hair dyes, and they certainly don’t smell anything like roses. When the ceremony before the hunger games happens, the children who are a part of it are dressed their best, wearing what is most appropriate to look their finest. They are trying to give the viewers the illusion of them being proper for the televised

Despite being overpowered by the Capitol, the Districts still have some control over what they can do. First, the people in their District stand together. “Then something unexpected happens….. [a]t first one, then another, then almost every member of the crowd touches the three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and holds it out to me…..[i]t means thanks, it means admiration” (Collins 24). In the text, District 12 is showing that they are refusing to applaud for Katniss to enter the games. This shows that the government has brute force on their side, but the people of District 12 have their own kind of power. This helps Katniss feel as though she is not alone, and everyone will always be with her. Their three-finger gesture makes

The totalitarian government of Panem is noticeably corrupted because of the drastic differences in the treatment of its citizens. The capitol certainly doesn’t oppress its wealthy citizens. The wealthy are well fed, protected, isolated from the other endeavouring districts, and have plenty of anything they might desire. An example would be on page 79 of the novel, “What must it be like, I wonder, to be living in a world where food appears at the press of a button?”, this certainly displays the Capitol's wealth and power over the districts, they hardly give anything to the useless districts (in their eyes). Moreover, the people in the capitol and district one are hardly working to gain the food, they receive most of their food from district eleven, one of the most hated. Evidentially This shows how corrupted and advantageous the capitol is. Another example of this would be when Katniss and Cinna had lunch. With simply a press of a button, Cinna releases a variety range of foods. Starting from chicken, vegetables, and fruits. Katniss “(tries) to imagine assembling this meal back home, chickens (were) too expensive” the poverty of the districts clearly is shown, the totalitarian government of Panem hardly

Much of the Hunger Games is centered around portraying a certain image, or identity if you will. The capital manipulates the weaknesses in their society and in their people to create an identity of unity and nationalism through the way they present the games to the districts of Panem. This idea of appearing to be one thing but really being another is ingrained in the society of Panem. District 12, in particular, maintains this image of complacency for the sake of survival, and Katniss is no exception to this.

Collins also portrays a clear division between the two classes using exaggeration of their lifestyles. Some of the ways she portrays this is through financial inequities, mass media as a tool of power and control and alienation from the natural world. Katniss describes her district as "District 12: Where you can starve to death in safety”. By this, she means that District 12 is the poorest district and can't even afford enough food for its people. In contrast, the Capitol is a place of seemingly infinite wealth, especially compared with District 12. One meal of theirs, as Katniss states, would take her days to assemble. “I don't recognize the grain, our own tessera rations cook down to an unattractive brown mush. Fancy rolls would mean another

Katniss Everdeen shares in Thoreau’s beliefs and has a strong hatred towards the government in which she lives under. The government she lives under, led by the Capitol, is a totalitarian government. They are very cruel and they attempt to control every aspect of the people’s lives. Katniss says, “Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch--this is the Capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy” (Collins 17). This shows just how controlling and intimidating the government of her society is. Katniss expresses her hate for the Capitol when she says, “It’s the Capitol I hate, for doing this to all of us” (Collins 166). Katniss hates the government and how they operate, just as Thoreau and other transcendentalists do.

This is further depicted when Katniss rebels against the capitol to ensure her family survives. - “District twelve where you can starve to death in safety”-, shows the reader how she really feels. It is shown through irony. Irony is used to highlight the main emotion the characters are portraying against each other, and their desire to save each other. Therefore it can be made evident that Katniss’ identity throughout her journey changes to protect those she loves, this shows the qualities of a hero.

In the novel The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, “Government control” is emphasized through the Capitol being prosperous financially which enables them to have control over the poor districts. An example that shows this is “Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there is nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you...” This shows that the Capitol will emphasize that they are better than the districts using The Hunger Games and that since the districts

Louis Althusser stated “the whole of the political class struggle revolved around the state,” (Althusser, 1970) which is clearly evident in this film because the capitol regulates society through a dictatorship rather than a democratic system. This shows that the 12 districts, a class of struggle, always obey and fear the government and do as they are told. Also, the capitol holds an annual brutal game known as The Hunger Games, where one female and one male are chosen from each district to fight to the death and the sole survivor being deemed the winner. As the civilians fear the government, the protagonist and Gale Hawthorne (a close friend) converse about running away from the capitol. Despite Gale’s insistence Katniss states ‘she would never run away because she is afraid of being caught by the capitol’ (USA, dir.Gary Ross, 2012). This depicts that they urge to rebel against the government, but are too afraid of the consequences of getting caught. Furthermore, when Rue from district 11 is killed in the game the residents of district 11creat a riot and attempt to rebel against the government. However, the civilians are being controlled by the army RSA, the people in white suites, and are using abusive power to stop them. This shows they have power against the class of struggle as stated by Louis Althusser. Lastly, the state first changed the rule so that there can be two winners as

These values differ from that of the Capitol, which is exempt from the Hunger Games. It appears that their only purpose is to use the goods and services that the districts create and to do so unscrupulously (2008). The citizens of the

The Hunger Games is about a teenager named Katniss Everdeen. She lives in a place called Panem. In Panem, there’s the capitol and 12 districts. The president and Capitol citizens live in the capitol. All the districts contribute something to the capitol like food, or power, and in return, the capitol gives the district's security. Katniss lives in district 12. District 12 provides coal but is also the poorest district. Everyone lives off of small animals they can catch. In order to survive, Katniss hunts on illegal land to provide for her mom and her sister, Prim. Every year the Capitol holds an event called the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is were two tributes from each district come to an arena and

“Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the districts against the Capitol. Twelve defeated the thirteenth obliterate” (Collins 18). The Capitol used their power and technology they had to defeat the districts, soon after the Capitol created the Hunger Games in order to take control of the districts and punish them for their rebellion.

For thousands of years, governments have been oppressing their people. Although their reasons for doing so may have been different, the outcomes were all the same: a revolt of the people. There are many examples of this throughout history, such as in the French Revolution and the American Revolution. The Hunger Games, a tale of a dystopian society filled with maltreatment by “The Capitol,” displays the path to insurrection triggered by the mounting cases of misery brought on by their government, that was attacking lower classes of people. By using common themes of oppression and rebellion found throughout history, The Hunger Games is a striking example of how repression by government will eventually lead to a revolt of the people.

A majority of the film is shot in low-lit lighting, often giving a dreary feeling to it. This lighting is commonly seen when in the districts. When visiting the Capitol, the city is vibrant and welcoming. These differences show the wealth of the Capitol compared to the poor of the districts. The districts are mostly filled with rundown buildings and dirty factories. The houses can be seen without paint and even windows. Inside, the houses often lack furniture and space. The audience is introduced to this when Katniss is seen taking a bath in an old metal container, displaying that her house does not have an actual bathtub. In one scene, the audience is able to see the market place that occurs in Katniss’ district. At this overcrowded market place, most of the citizens can be seen selling trinkets or trading items. This seen portrays an almost panicked feeling, giving the audience an idea of what the citizens must go through in order to survive and provide for their families. The Capitol city is futuristic with large, modern buildings. Such buildings are often filled with luxurious and fashionable furniture to top it off. The citizens within the Capitol wear exaggerated makeup, even the men. They can be commonly found in bright-colored clothing and items that display their wealth. When taken to the districts, everyone has a dirty, tattered, and pale look to them. Commonly